


Sweet Dreams

by Little_Sailor_JD



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 22:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4539087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Sailor_JD/pseuds/Little_Sailor_JD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kidd has nightmares sometimes, and Killer takes the brunt of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Dreams

            It wasn’t often that Kidd had nightmares – or rather, night terrors – but when he did, Killer got the worst of it.

 

            These terrors would start out with soft whines, just like the ones that Kidd would utter with any dream he had. But, those whines would escalate into cries of panic and fear. The redhead would violently lash out with his fists, legs, nails, elbows, and anything else he could think of using as he attacked his nightly terror. But, most of all, he ran. Kidd always ran – why, Killer had no idea. But, he was well aware that when Kidd had a nightmare, he was sleeping on the couch.

 

            Kidd wasn’t aware that he fought in his sleep, and he wasn’t aware that most of his attacks connected with the blonde, and not some invisible terror. The first time it happened, the poor blonde received a black eye and gouge marks in his arm. But, when the younger questioned him as to how he got the injuries, Killer didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. If he did, Kidd would never let the smaller male sleep beside him again – that was something the multi-coloured eyed man could not risk.

 

            Tonight, though, Killer just wanted to sleep. His body felt heavy from a long and arduous day at his three different part times jobs, plus he had to go grocery shopping, fix his car when it broke down on the side of the road – yet again – and he had to balance both of their checkbooks. The blonde was tired, and he went to bed without even taking a shower first. He snuggled next to a sleeping Kidd under the duvet and let his mind and body completely relax. Until he heard it. That heartbreaking whine that signaled the start of a nightmare.

 

            “Oh, God,” the tanned male whispered. “Please, not tonight.”

 

            Kidd whined a bit louder, shifting in his sleep. Killer knew that he should move, but his limbs felt like lead. He probably couldn’t have moved, even if he wanted to.

 

            The sleeping redhead cried out loudly, his voice echoing off of the walls of their dark bedroom. The blonde made his own whining noise as he flopped onto his back to stare at the ceiling shrouded in darkness. He should move…but the couch was so far away. Maybe he could just sleep on the floor?

 

            As he mulled over the different ideas in his mind, a pale fist came flying at him. Reflexes dulled by the long day, Killer didn’t move in time to dodge the punch that connected squarely with his nose. The blond, however, did have enough sense to jerk his head to the side before Kidd broke his nose. But, he wasn’t fast enough to escape all of the damage.

 

            The elder blinked the tears that sprang to his multi-coloured eyes away as he felt something rather warm, wet, and sticky trickle out of his nose. In a flash, the blonde sat up and held his fingers under his nose to catch any blood as he leapt from the bed, only to run out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom. He flicked on the light and stared in the mirror to assess the damage.

 

            His nose wasn’t broken, thank God, but that punch had done some damage. The liquid life cascaded out of his nose, catching on his upper lip, where it would drop off to fall on his chest or the sink from there.

 

            Grabbing a nearby box of tissues, Killer wiped the blood from his nose and lip. He leaned forward over the sink, keeping his head down, so that the white porcelain would catch the drops, instead of his already stained white t-shirt.

 

            “God fucking damn it,” he swore loudly.

 

            “Killer?”

 

            The blonde turned his head slightly to see Kidd, standing in the doorway of the bathroom, clad in a pair of tight black boxers and a heartbreaking look of guilt and shame.

 

            “Yeah?” The older asked, turning back to face the sink. He snorted some air out of his nose, and watched as a few drops of blood splattered farther away than the others had. He couldn’t bear to look at Kidd right now – not when the redhead looked like that.

 

            “This is my fault…isn’t it?” The way Kidd asked it sounded as if he were about to cry. It made Killer’s heart clench painfully in his chest. He needed to fix this.

 

            “No, it’s –“

 

            “Don’t lie to me!” the pale man practically screamed, his voice echoing off of the tile almost painfully. This cause Killer to right himself and look at his lover, and that’s when he saw it. Kidd’s right hand, which was curled into a tight fist just like the other one was, had blood smeared on the knuckles – his blood. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded.

 

            Killer hefted a sigh, and nodded solemnly. He knew that he was going to regret this, no matter how he went about it, so he decided to tell the truth. End this charade while Kidd was asking for it.

 

            “Yes,” the blonde said, staring up into rouge eyes. “You did this. You always get violent when you have nightmares. You kick, punch, claw, and do lots of other things, as well.”

 

            “So, the black eye from a few months back?”

 

            “You,” Killer confirmed. He watched as his normally cocky and prideful lover was brought down by guilt and shame. The normal cocky look that lived on his face had moved out for sadness to take its place.

 

            “And the gouge marks on the side of your arm?” He asked, voice cracking by the end of the simple sentence. The smaller felt his heart just break inside of his chest, but the other had asked for this.

 

            “You, again.”

 

            “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kidd cried, his voice and shoulders shaking as he looked down. The blonde could have sworn he saw a tear, but he wouldn’t say anything about it, or else Kidd would get even more defensive. “I wouldn’t have let you sleep near me if I’d have known!”

 

            “That’s why,” Killer said, noticing that the blood had stopped flowing from his nose. He grabbed another tissue to wipe away the rest of the blood that had accumulated on his skin. “I hate spending a night not sleeping by your side. It gives me nightmares. I didn’t tell you, because I knew that you would banish yourself to the couch, and then I’d just come out there anyways.”

 

            “But…I hurt you,” Kidd muttered, staring down at his feet. He let his teeth sink into his bottom lip, tasting a bit of blood.

 

            Killer stepped closer to his lover, and wrapped his strong arms around that pale waist. “It happens. You didn’t do it on purpose.” He stood up on his tip toes to place a gentle kiss on his lover’s un-painted lips.

 

            “No,” the younger sighed, leaning his head on top of the smaller male’s. “I guess not.”

 

            “Tell me something, though. What are your nightmares even about?”

 

            Kidd tensed in the smaller’s grasp, before he let out a sigh, and buried his face in the blonde’s hair. “You,” was all he said.

 

            “Me?” Killer echoed, frowning. He didn’t know if he should, but the blonde felt very offended by this. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

            “You,” Kidd said again, wrapping his arms around the elder’s shoulders. His voice was small, like a child’s, as he continued to explain.  “Leaving me. You walk away without even a goodbye. I run after you, calling your name, but you don’t stop. You never stop. You just disappear into the crowd, and I push people, running after you, trying to find you.”

 

            Killer let this information sink into his mind. A few minutes later, a grin spread itself across his face. Then, he began to chuckle lowly. Then, he giggled. Soon, he was laughing loudly, his voiced echoing off of the walls, much to Kidd’s annoyance.

 

            “It’s not funny, bastard!” The redhead cried angrily.

 

            After Killer composed himself enough to stop laughing like a madman, he looked up into very irritated rouge eyes, a smile on his face.

 

            “That’s what you’re afraid of? Me leaving you behind?”

 

            Kidd frowned, but nodded anyway – it was a normal thing to be afraid of. After all, Killer was the only person who could hurt him in a way that no one else could.

 

            “Kidd, that’s the only thing you _never_ have to be worried about,” the smaller smiled. He stood on his tiptoes and planted another kiss on his lover’s lips. He muttered against them, “I’ll always be here, no matter what.”

 

            Kidd visibly relaxed as he gently kissed the blonde back. When he pulled away, a smile blossomed onto his face.

 

            “I know,” he said, nuzzling into the blonde’s sweet-smelling hair, “but, it’s nice to hear once in a while.”

 

            Killer smiled, and nodded – it was a nice thing to hear every now and again. After all, Kidd always needed reassurance from the blonde in almost everything he did. “Let’s go back to bed.”

 

            The younger nodded, and scooped up his lover in his arms, carrying him out of the bathroom, and flicking off the light on the way. The duo traveled back to their room, where Kidd laid the smaller on the mattress, before lying next to Killer and pulled him close. The blonde reached down and pulled the duvet over both of them, snuggling into his love’s warmth, deeply inhaling the comforting scent that was Kidd. Within a matter of moments, both men were sleeping peacefully.

 

            Ever since that night, Kidd hadn’t had a single nightmare, just as long as Killer was sleeping by his side.


End file.
